92-02 

Pacific  Air Forces



PACAF, with headquarters at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, is a major command 
and the principal air component of the United States Pacific Command.  PACAF's 
area of responsibility is far-reaching --more than half the Earth's surface 
from the west coasts of the Americas to the east coast of Africa, and from the 
Arctic to the Antarctic.  The area is home for some 2 billion people in 35 
nations.

Mission
 
PACAF's primary mission is to plan, conduct and coordinate offensive and 
defensive air operations in the Pacific and Asian theaters.  This involves 
responsibilities to the U.S. Pacific Command and the U.S. Air Force.
 
As the U.S. Pacific Command air component, PACAF provides advice on the use of 
aerospace power throughout the theater and carries out missions as directed by 
the commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Command.  Missions often are in 
conjunction with Army, Navy and Marine Corps forces.  

___________________________________________________________

Headquarters Location
Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii

Mission
Plans, conducts and coordinates offensive
and defensive air operations in the Pacific
and Asian theaters

Personnel Assigned
Approximately 48,000 military and civilian

 History
Activated in 1944 as the Far East Air Forces;
became Pacific Air Forces in 1957
____________________________________________________________


As an Air Force major command, PACAF is responsible for most Air Force units, 
bases and facilities in the Pacific and Alaska.  In that role, the command 
ensures that flying resources in the region are properly trained, equipped and 
organized to conduct tactical air operations. 

The command's goals are:

o Improve readiness to fight;
o Make operations safe and secure;
o Maintain high standards of conduct, appearance, and performance;
o Improve the quality of life for all members and families;
o Improve living and working facilities; and,
o Build good relations with host nations and communities.

Organization

The command has approximately 48,000 military and civilian personnel serving 
in nine major locations and numerous smaller facilities, primarily in Hawaii, 
Alaska, Japan, Guam and South Korea.  Approximately 300 fighter and attack 
aircraft are assigned to the command. 

PACAF's major units are:  5th Air Force, Yokota Air Base, Japan; 7th Air 
Force, Osan Air Base, South Korea ; 11th Air Force, Elmendorf Air Force Base, 
Alaska; and, 13th Air Force, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.  

Major units also include: 3rd Wing, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska; 8th 
Tactical Fighter Wing, Kunsan Air Base, South Korea; 15th Air Base Wing, 
Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii; 18th Wing, Kadena Air Base, Japan (Okinawa); 
51st Tactical Fighter Wing, Osan Air Base, South Korea; 343rd Wing, Eielson 
Air Force Base, Alaska; 432rd Fighter Wing, Misawa Air Base, Japan; 475th Air 
Base Wing, Yokota Air Base, Japan; and the 633rd Air Base Wing, Andersen Air 
Force Base, Guam.

In Japan, U.S. air operations are controlled by 5th Air Force; for the 
Northern Pacific, by 11th Air Force; in the South Korea, by 7th Air Force; 
and, in the Southwest Pacific region, by 13th Air Force.
 
The 15th Air Base Wing at Hickam operates and maintains Air Force 
installations, provides information management and logistics support to 
Headquarters PACAF, and supports many small Air Force activities in the 
Pacific.  Aligned under the 15th Air Base Wing, the 6010th Aerospace Defense 
Group directs the air defense of Hawaii and the 10-million-square-mile Pacific 
Islands Defense Region, including Wake, Midway, Guam, Johnston, Christmas, 
Marshall and Mariana Islands.

History
 
The organization was activated Aug. 3, 1944, as the Far East Air Forces. At 
that time, it possessed two numbered air forces, 5th and 13th.  The 7th Air 
Force was added July 14, 1945, to support the planned invasion of Japan.  
 
Following the war, Far East Air Forces and 5th Air Force remained in Japan, 
7th Air Force operated from Hawaii, and 13th Air Force operated from the 
Philippines.  The 7th Air Force was inactivated in 1949.  It was reactivated 
from 1955 through 1957 in Hawaii, and from 1966 through 1975 in Vietnam and 
Thailand.
 
On July 1, 1957, four years after the Korean War's armistice, Far East Air 
Forces was redesignated Pacific Air Forces, and the headquarters transferred 
to Hickam Air Force Base.

In the early 1980s, increased Soviet strength in the Pacific forced PACAF to 
plan for additional global contingencies.  With the Sept. 8, 1986, 
reactivation of 7th Air Force in Korea, peacetime and wartime command 
arrangements in the Western Pacific improved.
 
Andersen Air Force Base in Guam was reassigned from Strategic Air Command to 
PACAF Oct. 1, 1989.
 
Secretary of Defense Richard B. Cheney announced Jan. 29, 1990, that 
activities at Taegu, Kwang Ju and Suwon air bases would be curtailed, and the 
bases would revert to collocated operating base status by the end of fiscal 
year 1992.  
 
Eleventh Air Force became a part of PACAF Aug. 9, 1990, when it replaced 
Alaskan Air Command.

Due to the June 1991 eruption of the volcano Mount Pinatubo in the 
Philippines, Clark Air Base was closed Nov. 26, 1991, and 13th Air Force moved 
to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Dec. 2, 1991.


Supersedes USAF Fact Sheet 90-09
February 1992